Vanessa Taylor grabs ‘full circle moment’ at JC Smith

COASTAL CAROLINA ATHLETICS

Vanessa Taylor, who coached Johnson C. Smith women's basketball to the 2009 CIAA tournament title, returns to the Golden Bulls after stints as an assistant at Coastal Carolina, Queens and Lander.

Vanessa Taylor won’t need to learn how to navigate Johnson C. Smith’s campus. 

Women’s basketball, though, is different.

Taylor, the winningest coach in program history, was hired earlier this month for a second stint after leading the Golden Bulls to a 215-112 record and the 2009 CIAA tournament title from 2001-12. JCSU has struggled over the last three seasons – the program has churned through five coaches during that span – but Taylor is pumped for the opportunity to open a new chapter.

“I’m full of excitement and energy right now,” she said. “It's a full circle moment for me, so I'm just really excited to be back at JCSU, and I certainly consider this home.”

Familiarity helps. During Taylor’s first stint on campus, the Golden Bulls were one of the CIAA’s marquee programs, a force to win their division and challenge for the tournament title and Division II postseason berths. In recent years, the school has invested more heavily in athletics from scholarships to facilities.

“I’m really grateful for the opportunity that [athletics director Denisha] Hendricks and [President Valerie] Kinloch have extended me to actually come back home,” she said. “The energy I feel, the energy in the air, [I] had an opportunity to speak with several coaches on the staff now. Our head football coach (Maurice Flowers), who was actually here during a stint in a different role when I was here before.

“One of the familiar faces that I have seen was (men’s basketball assistant coach) Trevin Parks, who was actually a player on the team when I was here before. And within the athletic department, it would be Dr. Hendricks. Of course, she's now in the lead position, which I’m really extremely happy about what she’s doing with the program here early on.”

After Taylor’s first JCSU stint, she left for Division I, where she was head coach at North Carolina Central, from 2012-17. She spent eight years as an assistant, including stints at Coastal Carolina  (2018-22) two at Queens and one at Lander before returning to the Golden Bulls.

Women’s basketball has grown over the last decade in terms of public awareness, exposure and player skills. Taylor sees untapped potential in JCSU carving out a place for the program to increase its following through a winning product.

“Women’s basketball is in the forefront of a lot of things right now,” she said. “When I was here before, we had a [WNBA] team – the Sting. We don’t have a team now, but they have truly led the way, the WNBA, for women’s basketball … along with collegiate basketball. 

“We’re part of that, and so with that, we have the opportunity in a major city to brand ourselves or rebrand ourselves as one of the top programs within the CIAA, within a region and hopefully on a national stage eventually.”

Getting to that level means recruiting and retaining players who can deliver wins on a consistent basis. Taylor’s challenge is to leverage a combination of assets – the program, campus, academics and Charlotte.

“As we move forward, first of all, who doesn’t want to come to the Queen City and play?” she asked. “That’s the first thing. Phenomenal city, always something to do, something going on. Our city has great energy. … And so with that surge of energy, it’s just a matter of identifying those young women … that are serious about their academics, that bring the kind of skill set that will allow us to [compete] because the CIAA is extremely competitive and every game there’s a lot of parity within the teams, so every game will be a dogfight.”

Six players from last season’s team are returning, Taylor said, which gives her a starting point on building the roster. She wants to recruit size, but athleticism and shooting are priorities.

“We certainly want to play up-tempo,” Taylor said. “We’ll show some read and react actions in terms of playing offensively, but we definitely want to open the floor. We’re always looking for paint touches when it comes to the offensive side of the ball, whether it be from a drive or an interior pass.  

“On the defensive side of the ball, we want to be a strong, solid defensive team. We want to apply pressure, not always full court, but just strategically applying pressure to keep our opponents [off balance by] forcing them to actually do things that maybe they’re uncomfortable doing, so we can turn [them] over some. Defensively, we want to pressure the ball.”

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